Pin orienting means for vibratory bowl feeders



July 26, 1966 w. H. ATKINSON PIN ORIENTING MEANS FOR VIBRATORY BOWLFEEDERS Filed Sept. 14, 1964 2 [NV E NTOR.

4L MUM/115 14 mms'ozv.

United States Patent 3,262,543 PlN ORIENTING MEANS FOR VIBRATORY BOWLFEEDERS William'H. Atkinson, San Mateo, Calif., assignor to My presentinvention relates to tumbler locks and more particularly to a means fororienting the key bit engaging pins carried by the plug of such locks asan initial step in the assembly.

An object of the invention is to provide a tumbler pin orienting deviceof the vibratory feeder type by which the bit engaging pins ofsegregated sizes may be properly oriented for insertion into the plug ofa tumbler lock during assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide an orienting means for avibratory feeder of the Syntron and Minimus types having a track ofnovel configuration that will orient tumbler pins to be fed therefromwith their rounded bit engaging ends forward and reject prior todelivery from the feeder any such pins not so properly oriented.

Other objects and advantages will be in part evident to those skilled inthe art and in part pointed out hereinafter in connection with theaccompanying drawing wherein there is shown by way of illustration andnot of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing wherein like numerals refer to like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a Minimus vibrating feeder ofconventional form,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the track of such a feedershowing a detail of construction,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary top View showing the manner in whichimproperly oriented key bit engaging pins will be dropped from the lineat a rejection point when the feeder is in operation, and,

FIGURE 4 is a view showing the manner in which properly oriented tumblerpins will by-pass the rejection point of the track.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary top view'looking down on a modified form ofthe invention, and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing abruptly down andaway from the part by the force of the magnet. Because of the angularleaf-spring arrangement, a radial twist is imposed on the downwardmovement, distorting the springs.

When the bowl is thus pulled downward, the part drops to a new spot onthe track which is in advance of its original position and when the coilis de-energized, the springs will return the bowl to its originalposition. While the vertical motion of the part is not visible becauseof the high-frequency movement which seems to make the part fiow up thetrack, an average speed of 20 f.p.m. is possible.

The first step is orienting a part is to evaluate it in terms of itsnatural feeding characteristics and the requirements of the application.What, if any, is its predominant attitude? How many attitudes does itassume? What is the desired attitude, or is there free choice in thisrespect? 3,262,543 Patented July 26, 1966 ICC Chief problem in tooling avibratory feeder bowl is that the user usually expects too much tohappen to a part before it is delivered to the discharge point of thebowl. He often neglects to realize that some final positioning andorientation can be accomplished better and more economically by properlydesigned out-of-bowl tracks and escapement devices. Quite frequently,the user requires that individual parts arrive at the end of the in-bowltrack in exactly the position and attitude in which his machine orprocess will accept .them.

To determine how many attitudes a part will take and to find out if anyone attitude is predominant, the parts are put in a bowl and theirtravel up the track is examined. Precise oriented feeding of small partsand prod ucts has always presented problems to manufacturing engineers.Through the years, various methods have been employed to feed parts,such as rotating ring selectors, oscillating boxes and blades, rotatingbarrels and drums, elevating selectors, magnets on conveyor belts,paddle-wheel hoppers, and vibratory hoppers and conveyors. Each methodhas its own advantages and disadvantages. However, for automaticallyfeeding and orienting small parts of all types and configurations, thevibratory bowl feeder remains one of the most frequently used devices.

With full knowledge of the above advantages and disadvantages of theso-called vibratory bowl feeders and after a thorough research in thisfield it has been discovered that there is no bowl type feeder havingthe capability of orienting tumbler pins such as are now employed intumbler locks within the bowl and without recourse to an externalorienting means. Therefore the novelty and advantage of my invention aswill be hereinafter-pointed out resides in the fact that the pins ofeither by hand or other means.

The nearest approach to a solution of the problem here presentedconsists of a vibratory bowl of conventional form in which means isprovided along the track of the bowl that will stand the pins verticallyon end against the outer wall of the track with their rounded endsupper-most and finally allowing these pins to drop through anaccommodating opening in the bottom of the track at the discharge endthereof. This solution, however, will require an external pin orientingmeans for it is necessary that the rounded end of these pins wheninserted into the plug of a lock be lowermost for engagement with thebits of a key. A further difficulty with this particular solutionresides in the fact that some key bit engaging pins of a tumbler lockare slightly rounded at the other end and in many cases they areprovided with a slight chamfer at the blunt end which. would preclude,or at least make difficult, an upright orientation of the pins in thetrack with the key bit engaging end uppermost.

As distinguished from the above solution I have by my invention provideda vibratory feeder bowl track which will deliver the pins in a properattitude for direct delivery from the 'bowl for automatic insertion intothe plug of a lock without recourse to any external oriented means.

For a better understanding of the invention reference is now made to theaccompanying drawing where in FIG- URE 1 there is shown a vibratory bowltype feeder of the so-called Minimus type having a bowl that is formedof cast aluminum, Teflon or hard setting plastic material of lightconstruction having a bottom 11 with a progressively inclined spiraltrack 12 extending from the bottom 11 to a point of discharge 13 at theupper end of the track 12. In this showing the point of discharge 13 ofthe bowl 10 is continued through a spring 14 having tightly woundconvolutions which provides a tubular conduit for directing the pinsfrom the bowl 10 to a point of use. The bowl 10 has a magnetic armaturesecured to its bottom that is Supported in spaced relation with the coreof an electromagnet within a housing 15 by inclined resilient supportingmembers or struts 16 that are carried by a base 17 having sufiicientmass or which is adapted and arranged to be secured upon a firmstationary supporting means. The electromagnet within the housing 15 isenergized by a suitable source of alternating current power throughconductors 18.

As is illustrated in more detail in FIGURE 2 of the drawing the track 12of the bowl 10 is at one or more points along its length provided with ashoulder 19 that is formed by a recess 20 in the vertical wall thereofagainst which the blunt end of an improperly oriented pin 21 will abutas here shown by dot-dash lines, whereas when properly oriented the pindesignated by the numeral 22, with-its rounded end leading will passover the shoulder 19. When the improperly oriented pin 21 is thusstopped the following properly oriented pin 22 will operate to crowd thepin 21 from the track 12 and cause it to return to the bottom 11 of thebowl.

The above operation is well illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 where inFIGURE 3 the improperly oriented pin 21 is shown as retarded in itsprogress along the track 12 by the shoulder 19 in such manner that thefollowing properly oriented pin 22 will operate to crowd the pin 21 fromthe track 12 for a return to the bottom 11 of the bowl 10. As the pinsmove along the track 12 with the bowl 10 rotating in the directionindicated by arrows, all of the properly oriented pins will continue intheir travel past the shoulder 19 without interruption.

In FIGURES 5 and 6 there is shown a modified form of the invention inwhich the shoulder 19 described above is formedby a vertically disposedpin 23 that is located in bisecting relation with the outer wall 24 ofthe pin track 12. The pin 23 is here shown as milled or cutsubstantially in half lengthwise to form a vertical surface 25 in thesurface of the wall 24 which when rotated clockwise as here indicatedwill expose a portion of the outer wall 24 of the track 12. This willpresent a shoulder forming surface 26 as a portion of the drilled holeinto which the vertical pin 23 is positioned. At the lower end of thesurface 25 and flush with the pin track 12 the complete diameter of thepin 23 will be exposed as at 27 and thus complete the surface of thetrack 12. With this arrangement it will be seen that by rotating the pin23 the depth or width of the shoulder forming surface 26 may be variedas required to accommodate tumbler pins of the different lengths. Inthis respect it will be noted that the surface 25 of the pin 23 is shownin FIGURE 5 as slightly off-center with center of the pin 23 locatedsubstantially in line with the surface of the outer wall. As analternative if the surface 25 of the pin 23 is located directly oncenter the pin approached side of the pin 23 may be relied upon tofunction in a manner similar to that of the pin orienting shoulder 26.

While I have for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose theinvention so that the same can be readily understood, described andillustrated a specific device and arrangement, I desire to have itunderstood that this invention is not limited to the specific meansdisclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggestthemselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that thisinvention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of theappended claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a vibratory bowl feeder having a spiral pin guiding track fordelivering properly oriented tumbler pins to a lock plug assemblystation having an outer wall with an obstruction by which improperlyoriented pins will be stopped in their movement along said track, andcharacterized by the fact that said obstruction of the outer wall of thepin guiding track is formed by an increasing recession travelwise in theouter wall of the track.

2. In a vibratory bowl feeder having a spiral pin guiding track fordelivering properly oriented tumbler pins to a lock plug assemblystation having an outer wall with an obstruction by which improperlyoriented pins will be stopped in their movement along said track, andfurther characterized by the fact that the obstruction in the outer wallof the pin guiding track consists of a vertical pin extending upwardlyfrom the bottom of the track and standing adjacent to the vertical wallof the track.

3. In a vibratory bowl feeder having a spiral pin guiding track fordelivering properly oriented tumbler pins to a lock plug assemblystation having an outer wall with an obstruction by which improperlyoriented pins will be stopped in their movement along said track, andfurther characterized by the fact that the obstruction in the outer wallof the pin guiding track comprises a rotatable pin extending verticallyfrom the bottom of the track and in line with the receding outer wall ofthe track and having a flat surface extending substantially flush withthe outer wall of the pin track, whereby the effect of said abutment maybe adjusted to accommodate pins of different lengths.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,043,286 11/1912Adriance 221-68 2,661,833 12/1953 Spurlin. 2,892,530 6/1959 Fox.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD A. SROKA, Exami er.

1. IN A VIBRATORY BOWL FEEDER HAVING A SPIRAL PIN GUIDING TRACK FORDELIVERING PROPERLY ORIENTED TUMBLER PINS TO A LOCK PLUG ASSEMBLYSTATION HAVING AN OUTER WALL WITH AN OBSTRUCTION BY WHICH IMPROPERLYORIENTED PINS WILL BE STOPPED IN THEIR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID TRACK, ANDCHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT SAID OBSTRUCTION OF THE OUTER WALL OF THEPIN GUIDING TRACK IS FORMED BY AN INCREASING RECESSION TRAVELWISE IN THEOUTER WALL OF THE TRACK.